80% Lower

I'm relatively new to the AR family so I'm not fully versed on what companies are respectable/ junk, etc. I'm interested in buying an 80% Lower and completing the build myself over the next few months. Are there certain manufacturers that you gravitate towards/ shy away from? I assume that they are all pretty much forged from the same type of metal and have the same layout?

From what I understand the lower receiver is what is stamped with the serial number so even if an AWB is pushed through by Obama or Congress that shouldn't prevent the sale of lower accessories or upper receivers right?

If I asked any stupid questions thanks in advance for your patience with a newbie.

You can still find full lowers and stripped lowers on auctions sites ,as far as an 80% complete lower not sure. A stripped lower is going for around 250 -500 bucks . A complete lower depending on brand around 6 to 900$ . If you asking which type to buy? Buy what ya you can , normally you get what you pay for. Peace .None of those will qualify for a stupid question.:-) oh and as far as what Obama is going to use his executive order to override the constitution and bann ? It's any bodies guess.

I'm relatively new to the AR family so I'm not fully versed on what companies are respectable/ junk, etc. I'm interested in buying an 80% Lower and completing the build myself over the next few months. Are there certain manufacturers that you gravitate towards/ shy away from? I assume that they are all pretty much forged from the same type of metal and have the same layout?

From what I understand the lower receiver is what is stamped with the serial number so even if an AWB is pushed through by Obama or Congress that shouldn't prevent the sale of lower accessories or upper receivers right?

If I asked any stupid questions thanks in advance for your patience with a newbie.

God Bless

There are only a handful of companies in the U.S that are actually forging lowers. A good example of that is BCM, Spikes, and even Noveske back in the day, only on the generation 1. They all just re- stamp, and purchased from companies that are forging. This I found out through friends in the industry. As far as quality goes, it's the final machining that will make or brake the 80%. I had the chance to mill mine with a friend that has the Colt specs on lowers on a mill that was programmed with those specs.He works with the local 80% retailers to help people finish their 80%. The law says you got to make the first cut at least. I got a chance to do everything. I have heard of stories of lowers turning into paper weights because of poor milling. I think you will be fine grabbing what you can, but make sure you go somewhere that knows what their doing. Lot of places like to sell you jigs and tooling to finish up,but that could be sloppy of you are not good at it. If are in California, I can help you out, and point you in the right direction.

__________________Assumption is the mother of all ****ups.Know what you know, Know what you don't know. -Paul Pedzolt"Jack of all trades, master of none, though oftentimes better than master of one" -Mynshul

Yeah, you will need to mill and there are ....legal issues IF you actually assemble a working firearm because you would be manufacturing. That said 80% means no check because its not a complete receiver and it should come without a serial number. Also an issue IF it were ever assembled into a working firearm by a non-licensed individual.

Obviously, check your local/state laws for any specific restrictions. But at the federal level an 80% lower is a paperweight until it is milled into a firearm. Only the the owner who mills it is allowed to do any work on the lower. People can give advice but cannot do physical work to the lower receiver. Once the lower receiver is completed it can only be owned by that person unless serious hoops are jumped through to transfer ownership to someone else. It is a federal offense to do otherwise. It is entirely legal to do this for your personal use and as long as you do not sell it, you are not considered a manufacturer as far as the fed is concerned. Your local/state laws may say differently. Make sure you know all of these before starting this project. As far as the fed is concerned, you are not required to put any type of serial number on it unless you want to sell it and then like I said, there are serious hoops to jump through to be able to legally do so. That said, I would recommend that you put some type of serial number on it, even if it is just your initials with a number like 000001. For example ABC-00001. The reason I say this is that not all law enforcement knows the laws they are charged with enforcing and may want to take your rifle away because there are no identifying marks on it even though none are required.

As far as where to get a good 80% receiver goes. I would suggest a couple of places.

hlfmanufacturing.com or quentin-laser.com/store

They are both good sources for quality goods. The back order time is something you will have to factor in as it is an issue in all things AR related.

For a jig to do the work yourself. I recommend going to cncguns.com or tacticalmachining.com

Both Vader Spade's tutorial you can get to by searching Google and cncguns.com's tutorial will show you what you need to get it done. Read both of these carefully and follow the instructions to the letter and you should have no issues. The other thing to realize is that this is not an inexpensive way to go. The 80% receiver is often as expensive as a finished lower. Then you have the expense of the jig, drill bits, quality calipers and drill press/mill. You also have to consider the cost of anodizing or doing something like a cerakote/duracoat unless you are ok with the straight aluminum finish.

There is more to doing this than most people think and many have bought the 80% lowers only to do nothing with them because of the process and cost to finish them or have not followed the directions carefully and chowdered the lower and have ended up with expensive paperweights. These are things to consider before you make the leap. I am not trying to discourage you at all, just being realistic. If you are up to it, I say go for it. It is not that hard and you will have the satisfaction of not only assembling an AR from scratch but being able to say you milled the receiver as well.